The present invention relates to an air/oil separation tank, particularly suitable for carrying out the separation of air and oil in a compressed air distribution installation.
It is well known that in industrial applications, an installation for the production of compressed air comprises essentially an oil bath spin compressor, an air/oil separator or separation tank, a tank for the accumulation of compressed air, radiators for the air and oil and the necessary operating and control valves. In more detail, the air/oil separation tank is installed below the compressor from which it receives the fluid under pressure which is constituted by a mixture of air and oil, and above the radiators for the oil and air when the two elements have been separated.
At the present state of the art, the air/oil separation tank is constituted essentially by a vessel with a cylindrical section where the fastening of the entry conduit of the mixture is carried out on the lateral wall of the tank and with a coaxial conduit in the interior which deflects the entering fluid towards the lower part of the the collector which contains a filter having the function of finally separating the air from the oil.
In operation, the separation of the oil component of the system is accomplished by gravity, because the small drops of oil contained in the gaseous current generated in the container have an upward speed less than air so that they become deposited at the bottom of the container. Therefore, the degree of separation of air and oil depends on the capacity of the apparatus to minimize the creation of turbulent motions so as to reduce to a minimum the formation of a mist or fog and therefore to allow a better separation of the liquid particles, that is the small oil drops from the air component.
This function is carried out by the internal annular collector which functions as a screen to the entry of the mixture in the container in a manner to cause the necessary vortex motions for the separation of the liquid portion from the air.
This method has at least two drawbacks. The first drawback resides in the impossibility of achieving the separation of oil from air to a high degree, so that it becomes necessary to use air/oil separating filters of a substantial size.
The second drawback resides in the fact that during the separation the temperature of the mixture is high because of the heating of the walls of the internal coaxial conduit so that a high temperature is registered also in the interior of the separating tank, a fact which necessitates the use of oil and air radiators of large dimensions, a fact which causes the maintenance (substitution of filters and cleanliness of radiators) to be more difficult and increases the cost of each apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to provide an air/oil separation tank which allows a high degree of separation of the two components of the mixture.
A further object of the invention is to provide a separating tank which requires the use of air/oil separating filters of minimal dimensions.
Another object of the invention is to provide a separation tank which does not require the use of a radiator for the oil and which requires at the same time a radiator for the air of reduced dimensions.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a separation tank of simple construction and which requires only minimum maintenance.
These objects are achieved with an air/oil separation tank characterized by the fact that the entry port of the of the mixture is located on the upper wall or cover of the container. In addition, advantageously, on the entry port is applied a suitable nozzle which introduces tangentially the fluid current, impressing on it a centrifugal effect along the wall of the tank with minimal formation of mist or fog.